Workers use a myriad of different portable tools, such as hand drills, skill saws, reciprocating saws, caulking guns, buckets with handles, and other tools, to get their construction, cleaning, and other jobs done. Often times it is useful for a worker to have his or her hands free, so the worker must therefore either set a tool down or hang it at a convenient location somewhere to be able to be “hands-free.” Or, alternatively, it is also desirable to be able to hang such tools, such as on a pegboard or wall hook, for storage purposes when the tools are not in use.
Thus there have been provided prior tool hooks adapted for allowing hanging of a tool or other item on a supporting member, such as a wall hook, a rung of a ladder, a hole in a ladder, a scaffolding rail, a swing stage system, a tool belt or some other supporting location. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 8,070,027, issued 12 Jun. 2011, for Adaptable Tool Hook, to Piatt, et al., teaches an adaptable tool hook comprising a wire-frame buckle and hook with a strap, wherein the hook stays with the tool and can be hooked on any available belt, pocket, rail, or wire.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,457,461, issued 4 Oct. 2016, for Dual Axis Hook Assembly for a Power Tool, to Francis et al., teaches a hook support attached to the housing of a power tool, the hook support being rotatable in a first axis and having a shank portion also configured to rotate in a second axis adapted for allowing hanging of the tool from a supporting location.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,893, issued 16 Dec. 1986, for Bow Hanger, to Shaw, III, teaches a bow hanger having steel plate members and a hook within the members for hanging the bow on a stationary object. The steel plate members are separated to receive an upper bow limb and are screwed together to clamp on the upper bow limb.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,721, issued 26 Jul. 1994, for Universal Belt Clip, to Raum, Sr., teaches a universal thermoplastic “U”-clip with adhesive affixed to one of its legs for supporting diverse semi-flat non-porous articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,011, issued 4 Nov. 2003, for Hand-Held Tool Holder, to Kahn, teaches a strap member with an eye in one end and adapted for wrapping the strap around the handle of a tool, such as a nail gun, feeding the strap through the eye to enable hanging of the tool on a hook, such as on a user's belt.
US Published Patent App. No. 2004/0050888, published 18 Mar. 2004, for Universal Tool Support Apparatus and Methods, to Warner, teaches a universal tool attachment for quick and easy attachment and detachment for almost any work tool.
Prior art tool hooks, made of plastic, and some made of metal, adapted for attachment to a single brand of eyeletted-frame caulking gun, and not adapted for optional attachment to the bail of a bucket or other wire attachment system on another type of tool, have been sold, both by applicant and others. But such, having been made in some cases of plastic, have easily broken, and because they have not been adaptable for multiple different types of tools and wire handles they have required multiple hooks for multiple applications.
Prior art tool hooks have suffered to varying degrees from different concerns: some have not been configured so as to resist bumping dislodging and subsequent dropping of the tool—whether it be so as to dislodge the tool from the hook, or otherwise to dislodge the hook from the supporting structure. Others have been limited so as to be adaptable only for use on a certain design of tool. Of course, this has presented problems, for example in the caulking gun tool market, since while most caulking guns are provided with a frame member on which a tool hook may be attached, different manufacturers have provided different frame member styles—thus frustratingly necessitating a different tool hook for each type of caulking gun frame member design. Still further prior art tool hooks have not been readily adapted for both attachment to a tool frame member as well as a bail type handle common to a standard five-gallon or one-gallon bucket. Still others, as mentioned previously, have been easily broken.
Existing caulking guns made by a number of different manufacturers under different brand names each have had differently-angled, differently designed, and differently-sized rear attachment bracket frame portions. This fact has made it difficult for a single took hook, i.e., a multi-function tool hook, to successfully adapt to a number of differently-configured such caulking gun attachment bracket frames.
In order to hang a bucket, prior art hooks have been developed such as a swivel tool paint pail hook, and hooks have been fashioned out of wire. Some such hooks have employed a carabiner with a swivel chain and a sharp, pointed hook on the end. Of course, a sharp hook such as this has been hazardous, and such a tool has not been readily adaptable for use with multiple tool types.
It would have been desirable for there to have been provided a multi-function tool and bucket handle hook capable of secure but readily releasable attachment to any of a number of different tool frame types (such as a plurality of available caulking gun frame types despite design differences from one frame to the next) as well as alternatively capable of secure but readily releasable attachment to a bail wire handle for a bucket or other tool.